President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of November 3 with a delegation from the Belgian Parliament. In addition to updating the parliamentarians on the current state of interaction and relations between the ROC and Belgium, the president also expressed hope that the European Union (EU) and the ROC will negotiate and sign a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) as soon as possible to add further momentum to their economic and trade relationship.
In remarks, the president stated that Belgium is an important European trading partner of the ROC. The two sides have long shared the same core commitment to democracy, freedom, human rights, and rule of law. Considerable advancements in bilateral relations have been seen in recent years, with the president pointing out that when Belgium held the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2010, the EU agreed to provide ROC nationals with visa-free entry to the Schengen Area. To date, 153 nations and areas throughout the world provide visa-free courtesies or landing visas to ROC nationals, an increase of 99 from only 54 before he took office in 2008. This, he said, has greatly facilitated travel overseas by the public.
Commenting on ROC-Belgium interaction, the president stated that the two countries have signed many agreements, covering double taxation avoidance, air services, technology cooperation, food safety, and higher education. A youth working holiday agreement between Taiwan and Belgium signed in March of 2013 was the first similar accord which Belgium signed with an Asian country, helping to promote interaction among youth from both nations.
President Ma then mentioned that the Belgian Parliament has long supported the ROC. It has passed five resolutions supporting Taiwan's participation in international organizations such as the World Health Assembly (WHA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) since 2002. In February of 2012 Belgian Chamber of Representatives passed a resolution friendly to the ROC, the first of the EU member states supporting the signing of an economic cooperation agreement between Taiwan and the EU. This past January Co-Chair of the Belgium-Taiwan Friendship Group Peter Luykx also proposed a resolution friendly to Taiwan at the Chamber of Representatives to support the ROC's East China Sea Peace Initiative unveiled in 2012, the signing of a bilateral investment agreement and an economic cooperation agreement between the ROC and the EU, and the ROC's meaningful participation in international organizations. The president expressed gratitude for this strong friendship.
As for cross-strait relations, President Ma stated that since he took office in 2008, his administration has consistently sought, under the framework of the ROC Constitution, to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait, and to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait ties under the 1992 Consensus, whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. Over the past seven years, the Taiwan Strait has been transformed from a flashpoint into an avenue of peace. The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have signed 23 agreements. Mainland Chinese visitors have made over 14 million trips to Taiwan, almost four million of them in the past year alone. The number of mainland students studying in Taiwan also jumped from 823 seven years ago to about 33,000 last year, a 40-fold increase, and the ministers in charge of cross-strait affairs from both sides of the strait have held several formal meetings where both sides used their official titles. All of these developments are unprecedented since the two sides have been under separate rule for 66 years.
The president said that sovereignty disputes over islets and maritime rights issues continue in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and he expressed hope that all parties will support the stance of "replacing confrontation with dialogue, shelving controversies through negotiation, and resolving disputes via peaceful means." This, the president said, would enable all parties to work jointly towards enhancing stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. He then unveiled the East China Sea Peace Initiative in August of 2012, asserting that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared," and urging all parties in the East China Sea to resolve disputes through peaceful means and in accordance with international law. In April of 2013 the ROC, based on this initiative, also signed a fisheries agreement with Japan, putting an end to a 40-year old bilateral fisheries dispute. In the process, he said, Taiwan did not yield an inch on sovereignty while securing big advances in fishing rights. This past May the president formally announced the South China Sea Peace Initiative, extending the concept of the East China Sea Peace Initiative, and he hopes that the ROC can work together with other neighboring countries to peacefully develop marine resources.
President Ma remarked that Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders recently responded to a written interpellation by Belgium-Taiwan Friendship Group Co-Chair Luykx by directly recognizing the substantive contributions of the ROC's East China Sea Peace Initiative, while further expressing hope that the ROC's South China Sea Peace Initiative will also be beneficial in bolstering regional stability. The president said he was deeply touched by this gesture of resolute support and friendship towards the ROC.
Commenting on economic and trade relations between the two countries, President Ma stated that Belgium is Taiwan's seventh largest trading partner in Europe, with bilateral trade last year of about US$1.9 billion. This constitutes growth of about 14% from the roughly US$1.6 billion in annual trade in 2007, the year before he took office. Taiwanese enterprises also invested about US$2.75 million in Belgium in 2014. While that may be a modest amount, it constituted a more than five-fold increase over the 2012-2013 period, he said, adding that this represents a stable increase in bilateral trade and investment. Efforts by both sides enabled the Taiwan-Belgium Joint Business Council Meeting to resume in May of last year after a lapse of 14 years. This meeting is expected to add new energy to economic and trade interaction and cooperation between the two countries, the president said.
Turning to economic and trade relations between the ROC and the EU, President Ma stated that the EU is Taiwan's fifth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade last year valued at US$50.9 billion. The EU is also Taiwan's largest aggregate source of foreign investment, with total investments reaching US$33 billion by the end of 2014. The European Commission on October 14 released a new trade and investment strategy for the EU: Trade For All, in which it expressed interest in holding bilateral investment negotiations with Taiwan. This, the president said, indicates that the EU desires to strengthen its economic, trade, and investment relationship with Taiwan. He also expressed hope that both sides will engage in negotiations on a BIA as soon as possible to add further momentum to mutual economic and trade dealings.
The president then mentioned that the ROC has made significant progress in external relations in recent years. For instance, after an absence of 38 years, starting in 2009 it returned to the WHA. In addition, Taiwan in 2013 was invited to attend the ICAO's 38th Assembly as a "special guest," marking its return to that organization after a lapse of 42 years. President Ma also stated that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will hold its 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) next month in Paris, during which participants will finalize and pass the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project. In addition, the legally binding 2015 international agreement that is expected to pass will replace the Kyoto Protocol. While the ROC is not a signatory to the UNFCCC, in June of this year the Legislative Yuan passed the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Management Act, under which the ROC has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to half of 2005 levels by the year 2050. At the same time, Taiwan has already pledged its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution in response to the passage last year of the Lima Call for Climate Action, thus adopting concrete measures to exhibit its determination to fulfill its obligation to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, said the president.
The delegation led by Servais Verherstraeten, Chairman of the CD&V Group in the Chamber of Representatives also included Members of the Chamber Hans Bonte, Vice-Chairman of the Committee for Commercial and Economic Law; Michel de Lamotte, Member of the Committee for Economy and Science Policy; Karolien Grosemans, President of the Committee for National Defense; Wouter Raskin, Member of Committee for Social Affairs and Infrastructure, Communications and Public Enterprises; Sarah Claerhout, Member of Committee for Foreign Affairs; and Valérie de Bue, Vice-President of Parliament of the French Community. The visitors were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Belgian Office in Taipei Director Rik Van Droogenbroeck and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平) to meet with President Ma.